Coolart Wetlands and Homestead Heritage Note - Parks Victoria

VICTORIA’S
HERITAGE
COOLART WETLANDS AND HOMESTEAD
Coolart, on the shores of
Western Port near Somers, is
about 70 km south-east of
Melbourne. Over a period of
nearly 140 years, Coolart’s
successive owners – including
some prominent identities –
left their mark on the estate.
With its ever-changing
wetlands, bird sanctuary,
woodlands, Victorian mansion,
superb grounds and nearby
beach, Coolart today attracts
visitors all year round.
The original inhabitants of the
area were Bunurong clan
groups. The territory of the
Bunurong, who were part of
the Kulin nation, extended
from the Werribee River west
The impressive manor at Coolart.
of present-day Melbourne
through the Mornington Peninsula and
Western Port to Wilsons Promontory. The
name Coolart is derived from ‘Colourt’ or
‘Callert’ – the Bunurong name for nearby
Sandy Point.
Today the descendants of the Bunurong are
represented by the Bunurong and
Boonerwrung Aboriginal communities, which
are working to recover and share more of their
heritage that stretches back thousands of
years.
COOLART’S SUCESSIVE OWNERS
Western Port was the furthest point to the west
that explorer George Bass reached in his epic
1798 whaleboat voyage from Sydney. From
1798, European settlers began to arrive near
Westernport Bay. Sealing operations started in
the area around 1801 and pastoral activity
from the late 1830s. The pastoral leasehold
known as “Coolort” or ‘Colourt”, was
established by Henry and Alfred Meyrick in
For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre
on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
1839. The nearby town of Merricks and the
Creek are named after them.
Early farming activity only produced modest
crops of wheat, oats and potatoes for the
Meyricks. They diversified with a small herd of
cows and a run of sheep. By 1841, their
prospects improved somewhat when they
exported their first wool clip. The Meyricks built
a small cluster of huts and deepened nearby
swamps to guarantee a more reliable source
of fresh water.
Meyricks’ leasehold was then taken over by
William Payne (1846-1852) who used the
property for cattle grazing. Fattened on
Coolart’s lush pastures, the beasts were taken
overland to Newmarket cattle yards on
Melbourne’s northern fringe. The property
subsequently changed hands to Harry Drew
(1853-54), and to Joseph Hann (1854 -1862)
who built a ‘dwelling house’.

VICTORIA’S
HERITAGE
Under joint ownership of businessmen
Theodotus Sumner and John Benn (1862 –
1875) a drainage system for the lagoon was
commenced. The senior partners in the firm
Grice, Sumner and Company also added
several buildings and bridges on the property.
The manor surrounded by its formal gardens.
The Barracks building, believed to date from
this time to accommodate farm workers, is
regarded as one of the Peninsula’s most
important historic buildings. Others from this
period include the Buttery/Meat house, a
Smokehouse and stable buildings. From 1875
to 1895 John Benn owned the land in his own
right and bred Shorthorn cattle.
A PLAYFUL VICTORIAN RETREAT
In 1895 Melbourne businessman and
philanthropist Frederick Sheppard Grimwade
paid £10,000 for the property. Grimwade soon
engaged Melbourne architects from the firm
Reed, Smart and Tappin to construct a large
two-storey brick residence for his family: wife
Jessie and nine children.
By the 1880s the Mornington Peninsula had
become a popular holiday destination for
Melbourne’s wealthier residents. The
Grimwades invited legions of friends to their
property and entertained them with riding,
For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre
on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
hunting and picnics. The bayside railway
service to Frankston and Stony Point brought
holiday-makers and day-trippers part of the
way.
“Guests as well as members of the family
would come to Coolart,
catching the so-called
express which ran from
Frankston to Stony Point
along the line the nervous
government had built to
protect the infant colony from
possible Russian invasion via
Western Port … (Alfred)
Felton was an occasional
visitor, although he did not
really enjoy country life,
preferring his steamer trips
down the bay.”
J.R. Poynter,
Australian Dictionary of
Biography Vol 4, 1972
During Grimwade’s
ownership, Coolart’s formal gardens were
created including the elm-lined gravel paths,
an orchard, specimen trees, a rose garden,
cypress hedges and a vegetable garden. To
look after these expansive garden features,
Grimwade had installed underground water
tanks to ensure water supply.
COOLART HOMESTEAD
Coolart was once part of the Mornington
Peninsula’s oldest grazing properties. Over a
period of 165 years, Coolart’s successive
owners left their own mark on the property.
The most prominent is the Victorian mansion
set in the park’s superb grounds.
In 1895, Frederick Sheppard Grimwade
purchased 1,752 acres from the estate of John
Benn for £10,000 in cash. Grimwade, a
prominent Victorian parliamentarian,
philanthropist and successful businessman,
conducted a wholesale pharmaceutical

VICTORIA’S
HERITAGE
business with his partner, Alfred Felton of
Felton Bequest fame.
Grimwade chiefly used Coolart to graze sheep
and cattle, and as a country seaside retreat for
his wife Jessie and their family of nine
children, and for invited guests. Their principal
residence was in Caulfield and is known today
as Grimwade House.
Leading Melbourne architects Reed, Smart
and Tappin were engaged to construct a large
two-storey asymmetrical mansion, designed
loosely in a style known as Second Empire.
Building materials for the mansion were carted
by train from Melbourne to Crib Point, and then
by oxcart to Coolart.
The residence, completed about 1896, has a
three-storey tower with projecting bay
windows, and a ground floor verandah that
encircles the southern side. The slate-covered
mansard roofs were decorated in terracotta
ridge capping. The tower’s cast-iron balustrade
and flagpole signalled the mansion’s main
entrance below.
Once inside the residence, visitors proceeded
through the entrance hall to one of two main
reception rooms. The magnificent timber
staircase led to the first floor bedrooms.
Access to the service areas at the rear of the
ground floor was through a separate entrance.
Coolart homestead is of architectural interest
as a landmark and through its contribution to
the surrounding picturesque landscape.
Unusual in this rural setting, it is perhaps more
typical of a 19 th Century mansion in an urban
environment. Its original interiors and lack of
great ornamentation reflect its purpose as a
county holiday retreat rather than a principal
place of residence.
REFERENCE
Allom Lovell & Associates, January 1997.
Coolart Wetlands and Homestead.
Conservation Analysis and Conservation
Policy
For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre
on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
20th CENTURY PURSUITS
Frederick Grimwade sold Coolart in 1907 to
Thomas Shaw Armstrong, a grazier from Sale
attracted to the area for its boating and fishing
opportunities. He and his family often travelled
overseas and were enthusiasts game hunters.
The property was then purchased by J.A.S.
Balmain, a former army officer.
The formal gardens and orchards created
during the Grimwade era remained much the
same throughout this period. Horses, sheep
and cattle continued to be stocked on the
property, while the tea-tree lined lagoon was a
haven for duck, snipe and eels.
Purchased by Stewart Robinson in early
1920s, Coolart was then subdivided and sold
in 1925. The principal portion of 753 acres was
bought by Western District grazier John
Feehan.
Feehan used Coolart to breed racing
thoroughbreds and grazed valuable cattle. He
was a member of the Victorian Racing Club,
and with his wife Eileen attended regular city
races. The property was overseen by a
manager housed in a cottage near the lagoon.
During their ownership, the orchard was
removed and replaced with flowerbeds and
lawns. To cater to the growing private interest
in tennis, a court was installed, and a garage
for vehicles.
During the 1930s John Feehan donated a
parcel of land on the south-east corner to
create Lord Somers’ Camp and Power House.
Established by the Governor of Victoria, Lord
Somers, the organisation gave underprivileged
youth a seaside leisure experience.
A VISION FOR A WETLAND SANCTUARY
Thomas Luxton, son of the McEwan’s
hardware store founder, bought Coolart in
1937. Tom Luxton, an avid birdwatcher and
farmer, introduced considerable changes and
improvements to the property.

VICTORIA’S
HERITAGE
Possibly the most significant was the
development of the lagoon and its
proclamation as a bird sanctuary. Luxton spent
many evenings observing birdlife from the
southern side of the lagoon. The Victorian
government formally recognised his
conservation efforts when it gazetted Coolart
Estate a sanctuary for native game in 1937.
To minimise the effects of drought, Luxton
began on a program of works to the lagoon in
1939. He raised the earth embankment to
increase water capacity and planted willows
and cypresses nearby. Additional islands
were created with further improvements made
in the drought years of 1958 and 1968. The
Luxtons also redesigned the gardens and
constructed a number of farm buildings in the
1930s.
During World War Two, the Royal Australian
Air Force first leased and then bought 50 acres
of land for training and accommodation. The
Luxtons re-acquired the land in 1959, and
demolished most of the RAAF buildings except
for one Nissan hut relocated near the
machinery shed.
Thomas Luxton’s vision for a wetland bird
sanctuary was maintained for over 40 years. In
this time, thousands of school children,
ornithological and naturalist groups visited the
property. Tom Luxton died in 1968.
The Victorian State Government purchased
the 87.5 hectare core of Coolart in 1977 and
proclaimed it a reserve for ‘Conservation and
Education Purposes’ - known as Coolart
Reserve - in 1978. The remainder of the
property was subdivided and sold. Coolart was
transferred to Melbourne Parks and
Waterways in 1996, and is now managed by
Parks Victoria. Today there are five major
wetlands – the Lagoon, the New Upper
Wetlands, the New Lower Wetlands, Home
Creek and Bush Dam.
Coolart’s buildings and its associated land are
listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre
on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
REFERENCES – Allom Lovell & Associates,
January 1997. Coolart Wetlands and
Homestead. Conservation Analysis and
Conservation Policy